English Original
grave visiting ...
lilies of the valley
hang their heads
Under the Bashō, June 15, 2020
Agnieszka Filipek
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
墓地祭拜 ...
一簇簇的鈴蘭
低垂著頭
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
墓地祭拜 ...
一簇簇的铃兰
低垂着头
Bio Sketch
Agnieszka Filipek is a Polish–born poet and translator living in Ireland. Her work has been published worldwide. Her poems have appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, Crannóg, The Cicada’s Cry, Chrysanthemum, Shamrock Haiku Journal, Panning for Poems Journal, Haiku Commentary, Under the Bashō Journal, First Frost Journal, and many others.
L 1, "grave visiting ..., establishes the somber setting and reflective mood. The ellipsis introduces a deliberate, physical pause, evoking an atmosphere of quiet contemplation and suggesting a speaker lingering in grief.
ReplyDeleteL 2, "lilies of the valley," introduces delicate, nodding flowers traditionally associated with purity, humility, and remembrance. Their fragile appearance directly mirrors the emotional vulnerability of the scene.
Then, L 3, "hang their heads," serves as the poem's emotional anchor. This line uses "understated anthropomorphism" to assign a human gesture of mourning to the flowers, evoking deep sorrow without resorting to overt sentimentality.
My haiku below could be read as its sequel:
Deletea gravesite at dusk...
he speaks to the stone angel
in his mother tongue
Haiku Journal, 9, 2012